Rainy, windy weather challenges anglers
Rain followed with wind (lots of wind) and then rain again for the weekend, that’s how the week went. These conditions made fishing a challenge but at least it wasn’t cold for a change. Fishing was actually better than what might have been expected if you kept an open mind and made the best of the conditions.
Spanish mackerel were a good go to fish all week, the bite wasn’t as good as the previous couple weeks but plenty of fish were caught. The trick was finding an open water spot over the days with the east wind howling that was both calm enough to fish and productive. We found fish in six to eight feet of water off the leeside of the bigger sand bars near Bokeelia in the Harbor. The best action came over the incoming tide, but often the ladyfish would move in so thick that nothing else had a chance at grabbing a bait. If you are content with catching ladyfish stay put and have a blast, if you want to catch something else then usually the best bet is to make a short move. Spanish mackerel were also caught a short distance off the beach of Captiva and Cayo Costa were the barrier islands offered protection from the stiff easterly winds. Also, between the fish shacks and Captiva Pass in the Sound offered protection and yielded macks.
Bluefish and trout were also caught with the mackerel inshore and a couple blacktip sharks estimated at four feet or so were hooked in the Sound.
Trout fishing wasn’t too bad especially for quality fish up to twenty-three inches. Captain Dick May reports catching limits of nice trout in upper Pine Island Sound in depths averaging four to six feet. The best bite was over the incoming tide. Captain Dick Eyler reports some “monster “trout before the east wind started to blow in northern Matlacha Pass. Along with big trout his party also caught and released snook with one over thirty inches. They were fishing live pilchards along the mangroves over the incoming tide.
Depends on who you talk to on how good the red fishing is, but most anglers are reporting an inconsistent bite. A few areas were fish were caught included the mangroves on the east side of Cayo Costa and in potholes between Regla Island and the Flamingo Bay channel. On the high water at Cayo Costa and on low water at the beginning of the incoming tide in the potholes. A few redfish were also reported along the eastern shore of Charlotte Harbor between Two-pines and Burnt Store Marina on the higher water.
On my boat we caught one to two redfish per day, nothing great but better than previous weeks. We are targeting them over the last hour or so of the incoming tide on oyster bars and shorelines in north Matlacha Pass and Bokeelia. We are also catching a few snook with the largest going thirty inches caught in the northern Pass, some big jack crevalle up to twelve pounds and big trout with the largest going twenty-three inches. This is the first time we have caught any large jacks since the winter freeze, these hard fighting brutes are a welcome sight and it’s always fun when you are catching this kind of variety from the same area.
Looking back at the week I wouldn’t go so far to say it was a great week but it was a good week given the conditions. If we have learned one thing this year it’s how to fish with adverse weather conditions. I sure would like to write two consecutive weeks about fishing without weather dominating the headlines. Let’s hope next week will be week number one!
If you have a Fishing Report or for Charter Information contact us at 239-283-7960, www.fishpineisland.com or gcl2fish@live.com